300,000 Ugandan youth to be supported in agriculture sector

300,000 Young Ugandans are set to be supported in agriculture sector. This follows a launched programme by Humanitarian aid and development agency, GOAL Uganda which will enable rural youth access dignified and fulfilling work in the agricultural sector over the next five years.

The program is in partnership with MasterCard Foundation’s Young Africa Works in Uganda – Markets for Youths Programme which target 210,000 young women and 90,000 young men between the ages of 16 and 35 years and will also include 30,000 refugees and 15,000 young people living with disabilities.

The programme is going to be implemented in 18 districts across Uganda in five sub-regions of Central, Acholi, Lango, Karamoja and South West. These youth set to be propped up by MasterCard Foundation will be supported in accessing financial services and products, skills training in practice and management of farm enterprises, accessing and participating in activities in the agricultural market system and collaborating to increase purchasing and influencing power in the agricultural market system.

Influencing power in the agricultural market system.

In addition, the programme will reach 600,000 people indirectly by partnering with the private sector to expand and adopt their business models to develop new products and services for young farmers.

The Country Director of GOAL in Uganda, Jennifer Williams, said the reason they are investing in agriculture is because it is one of the biggest actors in Uganda that will provide a vast opportunity for young people to engage in farming, and given the fact that the rate of unemployment among the youths is high, they saw it fit to support them so that they can be included in the country’s agricultural system.

“We are going to do this through four strategies; access to finance, skills, on and off-farm inputs and also target bringing in the private sector and vocational training institutes. We are also going to empower the youths and provide them with a voice through which they can engage the agricultural market and get a response,” said Williams.